Three little experiments
by collierider12
Summary: When three pokemon escape from a horrible past, they find shelter with a human, but at what cost to all of them.
1. Chapter 1

Oh my arceus this one took forever. Review, favorite, all those things if you like the story. It might be a while before i post the next chapter, because this one nearly killed me.

Rain poured down hard outside. Three figures walked down a long, and seemingly endless road of mud that used to be a dirt road.

"Braixen I'm tired." A flaaffy complained.

"I'm hungry" a Buizel threw in. A Braixen who led the three travelers was annoyed by the pokemons constant complaining, she was just as tired as they were and wanted to stop as badly as they did, but they had to keep moving. "Braixen, did you hear us?" The Buizel asked. "We said were hu-"

"We'll you know what, i'm hungry too!" The braixen turned around and shouted, throwing the two off guard. "I'm tired, i'm dirty, every part of me is exhausted, i'm wet, and i'm sick and tired of you two, but do you see me complaining!?" She asked. The two scared pokemon shook their heads. "Good, now let's keep it that way."

The two pokemon followed their sister, they didn't have anywhere to go and were considered fugitives on the run. Running away at the time seemed like a good idea at the time, though preparation should have been something they took into more consideration.

"Braixen, when are we going to stop?" The Flaaffy asked.

"I don't know." Braixen responded.

"Why didn't we just sleep in the woods?" Flaaffy asked.

"You fully know why." Braixen responded.

"But-"

"Flaaffy, i swear, if you keep asking questions you know the answer too, i will personally leave you here." Braixen threatened.

"I was just asking." Flaaffy responded quietly.

"All the time i swear, when are we going to eat, when are we going to sleep, i can never get a moment of quiet with you two around. You always pester me with with questions all three of us know the answer too." Braixen ranted, she did this often when she was annoyed. Originally she HAD wanted to travel alone, but considering the fact they were all blood related from the same father, she didn't really have a choice.

"Braixen?" The Buizel spoke up.

"Just ignore them and they won't ask stupid questions." Braixen thought.

"Braixen?" Buizel asked a little louder.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." Braixen thought.

"Braixen?!" Buizel shouted.

"What?!" Braixen turned around and asked.

"Can we stay in that house up there?" The Buizel asked, pointing somewhere.

Braixen turned around and just barely visible through the rain storm was a lonely building. "Thank Arceus." Braixen thought. "For now that might not be a bad idea, maybe if were lucky, there will be food inside." Braixen replied, leading the two towards the house.

Cutting across a field, the two approached the back door of the house, it was a white wooden door, Braixen reached for the handle and pulled the knob, opening the door.

"Alright." She whispered. "Well stay here for the night, but we have to leave very early in the morning." The Buizel and Flaaffy nodded their heads in understanding and Followed the braixen inside. The door lead into the kitchen of the house, Braixen inspected where some food might be easily reachable. The darkness didn't really help in easing her search, but she needed to be as quiet and unnoticed as possible. She was sure there was someone living in the house. Braixen's only hope was that they wouldn't wake up before they left in the morning. "Flaaffy." Braixen whispered.

"Did you find any food?" Flaaffy asked excitedly.

"No, not yet, it's kind of hard to see, you still remember flash?" She asked.

"Yeah, hold on." Flaaffy replied. Flaaffy grabbed her tail and lit up the ball on the tip, illuminating a white light around the kitchen. "That better?" She asked.

"Much." Braixen responded. Braixen spotted Some fruits in a bowl along the counter, when she tried to reach however, she couldn't. "Flaaffy." Braixen called quietly. "Come and get this bowl." She ordered.

Flaaffy nodded and came to where Braixen was, she attempted to reach the bowl, the only problem being, she couldn't either. Despite the fact she was the tallest of the three, She had the shortest arms. Braixen let out a sigh of annoyance. "Alright, let's just grab a chair, QUIETLY, and bring it over here, that should help." Braixen ordered.

Braixen and Flaaffy grabbed the only chair at the table and slowly dragged it over to the counter. Flaaffy struggled to get up at first but eventually was able too. Flaaffy managed to grab the fruits easier now. "Got them." She whispered when she got her flippers around the bowl. The one thing both Braixen and Flaaffy forgot to think about was how difficult it would be to carry a bowl with only flippers. So it wasn't a big surprise when the bowl slipped out of her flippers and fell to the ground, making a loud clatter.

Glen jumped awake when the sound of something fell in the kitchen.

"Ugh, what time is it?" Glen wondered, he looked at the clock and saw that it was one in the morning. "Of course this would be the only time intruders tried to break in." He groaned. Glen got up from his bed and threw on a t-shirt, grabbing a bat from behind his dresser, Glen slowly opened the door from his room quietly, and slowly made his way to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry." Flaaffy apologized in panic.

"Flaaffy, shut up, maybe they didn't hear that, we don't know. Now, calm down and get down from the chair." Braixen ordered. Flaaffy did as her sister told her and got down from the chair. "Buizel, help me clean this up." Braixen ordered her brother.

Buizel helped his sister in picking up the fruit quickly. Just as Buizel was about to pick up an apple on the floor, the light flicked on in the room. Braixen looked over and saw a man with A baseball bat in his hand. He looked confused.

Flaaffy and her brother quickly retreated around their sister. Braixen threw her hands out and growled, ready to defend her brother and sister from being attacked.

Glen realized the pokemon weren't trying to rob him, but were probably looking for food. "Alright, alright, calm down, look, i'm putting down the bat." Glen tried to reason with them before the fire type probably burnt down his house. The Braixen stopped growling, but she still kept her arms out. "I'm not here to hurt you." Glen assured.

"You're not?" The Buizel asked.

"No, i'm sure if you can tell your friend there to calm down we can talk." Glen advised.

"How do we know you're not going to hurt us?" Braixen asked.

"I haven't hurt you yet, have I?" Glen asked. "Let's just talk for a minute." Braixen was still suspicious, but just to amuse him, she dropped her arms. "There, now why don't you sit on the couch." Glen asked, gesturing them to the living room. "But before you do." He spoke up, noticing how dirty they looked. "Why don't i get you guys some towels?" He asked.

Glen walked off, leaving the group alone. "Now's our chance, let's make a run for it." Braixen ordered the other two.

"But he seems nice." Flaaffy complained, not wanting to leave.

"Yeah, can't we just give him a chance, we've been walking for hours." Buizel threw in.

Braixen was about to argue back about the reason why they were running, but exhaustion, hunger, and just the feeling of having enough for the day was enough to make her give in. "Fine." She sighed. "But we leave in the morning."

"Yay!" The Flaaffy and Buizel cheered.

Glen came back and handed each of the pokemon a towel. The Three pokemon wrapped themselves in the fuzzy cloth and took a seat on the couch.

"Geez, you guys looked like you ran a marathon all day." Glen commented.

"We've been walking all day." Buizel commented.

"Really, Why?" Glen asked.

"That's none of your business." Braixen spoke up.

Flaaffy and Buizel froze, scared of how Glen would react to her comment.

"Feisty one aren't we?" Glen asked. "Well, i guess if you don't want to tell me i guess that's fine, but i need to know if you have owners?" Glen asked.

"We don't have owners." Braixen replied.

"But-" Flaaffy spoke up.

"No owners." Braixen spoke up again, cupping a paw over Flaaffy's mouth. Braixen shot Flaaffy a glare.

Glen stared at the two pokemon. "I think i might already know the answer, but i just want to know what you guys are doing here?" Glen asked.

"We were hungry." Flaaffy replied.

"And tired." Buizel also threw in.

"And wet." Flaaffy added.

"And looking for a place to rest." Buizel added.

"Well, you certainly look like all of those things." Glen added. "Well, i probably won't be going back to sleep for a while, let me see if i can make you something."

"Really?" Flaaffy and Buizle asked excitedly.

"Sure, i've got enough food to last me a while, i think i can spare some." Glen replied, walking into the kitchen.

"You hear that Braixen, Food!" Flaaffy excitedly asked Braixen.

"Yeah, that's nice." Braixen replied drowsily.

"Braixen, you can't sleep now, we're gonna eat." Flaaffy warned. "If you go to sleep now you'll miss the food."

"Flaaffy, i have been walking around all day, i just need to rest." Braixen replied, putting her head on the couch armrest.

"We can just wake her up when the food comes." Buizel suggested.

Flaaffy and Buizel waited for Glen to return back with some food. When Glen returned he held a plate with sandwiches on it. "Chow down." He said as he handed them the plate. Buizel and Flaaffy grabbed theirs and scarfed down their food. Glen gently shook Braixen awake. Braixen just grabbed hers and ate it drowsily. By the time she ate the last bite, Flaffy and Buizel were both starting to doze off to sleep.

"Well, since your stomach's are full, i would say it's time for bed." Glen spoke up when all three were done. All three pokemon were too tired to respond at this point. Glen just smiled and grabbed an old blanket that hung over the couch. Glen put the blanket over the three pokemon and left the three to sleep.

While they were sleeping, glen grabbed a mop from a closet and went into the kitchen. Marching all day in the road in mud gets your feet pretty dirty, but walking over a linoleum floor leaves an even bigger mess. Glen adjusted his glasses and let out a sigh as he began to mop up the mud around the kitchen. "Geez, it's like they ran a marathon in here, there is literally mud everywhere." He thought. "Even worse, their probably getting mud on the couch. Well, i guess thats my fault for being a sucker for adorable pokemon. They certainly are an odd pair, wonder where they came from, or more importantly, where they are going." Glen continued to wipe off the mud from the floor when he noticed the tracks were leading from the back door. "That's strange i could have sworn i locked that door." Glen thought, reaching for the knob, Glen tugged on the door and realized it was locked. "Wait, if the door was locked, how did they get in here?" Glen thought. Glen rubbed his eyes balls with one of his hands. "They probably just locked it when they got in or something, i probably just left it unlocked through the night."

Glen finished cleaning up the mud in the kitchen and turned off the light. "Saying anyone is looking for the three, i'm sure they'll show up sooner or later." glen thought.

"Dad, why do we have to grow up to be you, why can't i be with a trainer like all the other starters." Braixen complained.

"Because sweetie." A lucario explained to his daughter. "It's just the way it's meant to be. I never asked to be who i am, i was told who i am, that's all."

"But i don't want to, what about Flaaffy and Buizel, they don't want to do this either, are you saying they have too?" Braixen asked.

"Second verse same as the first, all three of you will be apart of this business." The Lucario replied.

"But, dad-" Braixen began.

"No buts, i know you don't want to follow after me, but Braixen, you have to learn, sometimes you can't avoid fate."

Braixen jolted awake. Covers were over her body. Braixen looked around the room, she remembered that she had passed out last night after they got into the house. Braixen suddenly felt a strong ray of light hit her eyes, covering up her eyes, Braixen looked out a nearby window.

The sun was above the horizon. "Oh no." Braixen thought. "I overslept!" She thought. "Guys, wake up, we need to leave." Braixen urgently stated, reaching around to find her sister and brother. Braixen looked behind her where her two siblings were supposed to be sleeping, only to find their spots vacant. Braixen heard a laugh from the kitchen and decided to inspect it. She saw both her siblings along with a man sitting at the table. Her siblings however were sitting on the table since there was only one chair, but luckily the table was big enough for them.

"Oh, Oh, did you catch the gyrados?" Flaaffy asked.

Glen laughed. "Oh heck no, i got pulled into the lake and lost my father's rod." The three of them shared a laugh, it was then Glen noticed the pokemon looking in through the doorway. "Well look who it is, come on in, breakfast's ready." Glen spoke up to the Braixen.

Braixen let out a sigh. "I can't, we need to leave." Braixen informed.

"But Braixen, i don't want to leave." Buizel complained. "We've been walking forever and were always hungry, can't we stay?"

"Yeah, this is the first time we've had any fun for a while, can't we just stay for another day?" The flaaffy begged.

The braixen looked over at the human.

"I personally wouldn't mind the company." Glen suggested. "Heck it doesn't just have to stay for a day, you can stay for as long as you want."

Braixen just sighed. "Guys, i need to talk to you for a moment." Braixen ordered. Flaaffy and Buizel looked over at each other with worried looks and followed their sister to the living room. "What part of "running from a dangerous group." Do you guys not understand, we are in a lot of trouble if we get caught." Braixen scolded.

"But he's cool." The Buizel replied. "He said we could stay as long as we want, and plus we won't have to walk and wonder where are food is going to be, we can actually have fun now." Flaaffy nodded in agreement with her brother.

Braixen face-palmed herself. "This isn't about fun, i'm trying to get you guys a good future, away from what might happen to you back at the "place" we came from." Braixen tried to explain.

"So why can't we have a "good future" here?" Flaaffy asked.

"Because it's not far enough, we still have a long way to travel." Braixen replied.

Buizel and Flaaffy were desperate to find a reason to stay. "Well you know what." Buizel spoke up. "You don't control us, if we want to stay we can."

"Yeah, what makes you think you can boss us around?" Flaaffy threw in.

"I'm doing this to protect your future, you are being babies about this." Braixen complained.

"Well i'm not going any further with you." Buizel replied.

"Me neither." Flaaffy threw in.

Braixen was about to lose her temper, and as much as she didn't want to, she might have had to raise a paw at them. But at this point she just gave up. Even if she did hit them, what would it accomplish, they would just be more scared of her. If they wanted to get caught and throw away a perfectly good future, then that was their choice.

"Fine, you don't want a good future, then throw it away, i'm leaving." Braixen replied.

"Don't you want breakfast first?" Flaaffy asked.

"I can find my own." Braixen replied, despite the fact she was already starving. Braixen started marching towards the door.

"B-but you can't just go out on your own, it's dangerous." Flaaffy tried to reason with Braixen.

"I know that, and i'm the only reason we've survived this long." Braixen replied. Braixen threw open the door.

"So you're just gonna leave?" Buizel asked.

"That's my intention." Braixen replied, stepping out of the house. "And don't bother coming for me, you've already lost that chance." Braixen warned, slamming the door.

Buizel and Flaaffy looked at each other worriedly. Afraid for their sister's safety.

"Everything alright in there?" Glen asked.

"Braixen left." Flaaffy cried.

Glen came into the living room and went to help cheer up the flaaffy. "Hey it's alright." Glen coaxed as he cradled the flaaffy in his arms. "I'm sure she's just doing the monkey see, monkey do trick." Glen assured.

"Monkey see, monkey do?" Buizel asked.

"Yea, i suspect she might of been the leader of the group, so she probably thought that if she left you would follow."

"S-so you're saying S-she might come back." Flaaffy sniffled.

"Sure, besides there's nothing too worry about, the road to the next city is pretty clear, minus some minor wild pokemon, i'm sure you're sister can handle them anyway." Glen reassured.

The flaaffy showed signs of cheering up. Buizel let out a sigh of relief, sometimes his sister could be a crybaby.

"There, feel better?" Glen asked when Flaaffy finally calmed down.

"Yes." Flaaffy replied. "Braixen hasn't returned yet, should we go after her?" She asked.

"I'm sure she's just trying to be patient, it's not like she can wait forever, i'm sure she's just waiting down the road." Glen assured.

"Stupid siblings, i bust them out, try to make their lIves a little better and this is what i get, a big slap of "we're leaving you on your own."? I was trying to help them." Braixen complained as she walked down the road. Braixen's stomach growled and she realized once more she needed to find food if she even thought of reaching the next city. Braixen looked around the road and realized there was no way she was going to find food on the road. Braixen looked at the forest and sighed. "I didn't want to resort to this again." Braixen thought. "But desperate times call for desperate measures." Braixen stepped into the woods and quickly searched for any source of food she could come across. Unfortunately, berry Bushes apparently seemed rare in this forest as Braixen had a hard time coming across any of them. Braixen shuffled through several bushes and trees before finally coming across a bush with several berries on it.

"Finally." Braixen muttered. Braixen picked the berries from the tree and got as many as she could carry. "At least i don't have to share this time."

Braixen hand picked several berries and ate whatever she needed. She planned on keeping the res for whenever she needed them. Braixen turned around and began walking back out towards the road.

"That the one?" She heard. Braixen's heart stopped for a minute, had they caught up to her?

"Yes, she's the one who took the berries." Another voice informed. Braixen let out a sigh of relief, but replaced it with annoyance for trading one problem for another.

"Alright, who's there?" Braixen asked. Two figures slithered out of the bushes, one being an ekans, the other being a seviper. "Oh great, snakes." Braixen thought.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" The Ekans asked.

"Getting food for myself." Braixen responded, showing no sign of fear.

"I'll have you know you took that "food" from our bush." The Seviper informed.

"And your name on it would be where?" Braixen asked.

The Ekans and the Seviper were growing impatient with the little fox.

"Give us the berries back, or we'll take your life along with them." The Seviper threatened.

Braixen dropped the berries and held up her fist. "As if i would be scared by two snakes." She replied.

"Have it your way." The Ekans replied, throwing the first bite.

Buizel's head suddenly shot up. "Braixen's in trouble." He informed.

"What?" Glen asked.

"You heard me, we have to go find Braixen." Buizel replied.

"If Braixen's in trouble she must have really left." Flaaffy realized. "She wasn't testing us, she really intended to leave."

"How do you know that though?" Glen asked.

"It's a gut feeling, come on, we have to go help her." Buizel urgently replied, running for the door.

Flaaffy rushed after her brother as he ran out the door.

"Well, might as well make sure she's ok." Glen thought as he dashed out the door in pursuit of the two pokemon.

"Are you sure of where Braixen is?" Glen asked after he caught up with the two pokemon.

"I have a slight idea." Buizel replied. "I have reason to believe she went into the forest."

"What? But she said we should never go into the forest, why would she go in there?" Flaaffy Questioned.

"Braixen was probably hungry so she took desperate measures in order to get some food." Buizel replied.

"How do you know?" Glen asked.

"It's my ability." Buizel replied.

"Ability?" Glen asked.

Before Glen could get an answer, Buizel pointed into the woods and shouted. "She went in this way."

Glen and Flaafffy followed the Buizel into the forest, not far off the sounds of fighting could be heard.

"You little brat!" The Ekans shouted as he received an ember to the face.

Braixen grabbed hold of the seviper that had bitten down on her shoulder and threw several punches. the Seviper eventually let go, only to slither under and trip her. the Ekans slithered over her and readied up an acid shot, Braixen grabbed the Seviper's neck, keeping him from shooting the poisonous substance. The Seviper returned and bit down on the Braixen's hand. Braixen let out a quick yell of pain and let one of her hands off of the Ekans neck. the Ekans bit the other hand, causing her to lose grip of the other hand around his neck, The ekans quickly charged the acid shot and spewed it on Braixens. Braixen felt the heavy poisonous fumes enter her nostrils. the Seviper slashed his sharp teeth down Braixen's leg causing her more pain. The Ekans bit down on her shoulder and started to draw blood from her wound. Braixen at this point had given in to the poison and blacked out.

The Ekans was about to deliver a killing blow, but a bolt of lightning threw him off of the fox. the Seviper looked where the attack came from and saw a human, Flaaffy, and Buizel had come to join the fight.

the Seviper and Ekans knew they were outnumbered, and if they were as difficult as the fox was, they didn't really have a chance.

"Fine, keep the damn berries, it's not like there isn't more around here." the Ekans stated annoyingly, before slithering off with Ekans by his side.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Buizel shouted. "You messed with our sister you mess with us, you hear me, get back here!"

"Let them go." Glen advised. "I think your sister needs immediate attention."

"She looks terrible." Flaaffy stated, worried for her sister.

"Yeah, those snakes did a number on her. Nothing a couple potions, some bandages, and an antidote can't fix." Glen replied. Glen picked up the fox and cradled it in his arms.

"Is she going to be alright?" The Buizel asked.

"She'll live, but i think she should stay with us for a while." Glen replied.

Glen walked through the front door of his house and set the fox down on the couch. Glen went to his closet and grabbed a small box he kept for specific emergencies. Flaaffy and Buizel watched anxiously as Glen healed up their sister. After some potions, an antidote, and a bandage around the fox's shoulder, Glen finally finished.

"After some R&R she should be fine." Glen advised as he put up any unused items.

"Where did you get all that stuff?" Buizel asked.

"From the Pokemart." Glen replied.

"Pokemart? Does that mean you have a Pokemon?" Flaaffy asked.

"Sadly, no, but i like to keep this stuff on hand just in case." Glen replied.

"How long will it be before Braixen wakes up?" Flaaffy asked.

"Not sure, the snakes did a number on her, so she could wake up in minutes, or hours from now." Glen replied.

"What should we do until then?" Buizel asked.

"Just sit and wait." Glen replied standing up. "I would say you could use the TV but it's been long broken and I keep forgetting to replace it."

"Maybe i can fix it." Flaaffy offered.

"I'm not really sure if you can, the main board got fried when a lightning storm hit a couple weeks ago." Glen replied.

Flaaffy walked up to the TV and put her flippers up against it and closed her eyes. For a second nothing happened. Then the TV just flickered on. Glen's jaw dropped along with the the First Aid Kit he was holding.

"How did you do that?" Glen asked.

"It's my ability." Flaaffy replied.

Glen scratched his brown hair in confusion. "You keep saying that it's "your ability" but what does that mean?" Glen asked.

"It's my ability, i'm just able to do it." Flaaffy replied.

Glen had so many question running through his head, how did the Buizel know his sister was in trouble, how did Flaaffy fix the TV without even trying. Then Glen's mind traveled to

last night, he was sure he locked that door that night, so how did Braixen and the other's get in? Glen knew it had something to do with the fox. She seemed so consistent on getting out of here, and not digging up their past. "What is she so desperate to hide?" Glen thought.

Glen picked up the first aid kit. "Alright, well, i'm going to put this First-aid up, then i'm going to be right back." Glen informed, stepping out of the room.

"Ok!" The two pokemon replied.

Glen went into his bedroom and put the first-aid in his closet. Reaching under his bed, Glen picked up a telephone book and flipped through the numbers. "It's obvious they're not owned by a regular house hold." Glen thought. "So let's see if any laboratories know what they are." Glen slid his finger down until he came across a name of a Pokemon research facility.

Glen made several phone calls to see if any where missing the three pokemon, but none had said they knew anything about the three. Glen was starting to wonder if they were something from outerspace, there was no way any pokemon had the ability to just randomly turn on a broken television.

"That's no fair, you got to pick the last show." Glen suddenly heard coming from the living room.

"Something tells me i'm needed elsewhere." Glen thought. Glen exited his room and walked into the living room to find the two siblings arguing over the television.

"What's going on here?" Glen asked, while trying to not raise his voice.

"Buizel's hogging the TV." Flaaffy complained.

"Because any show you pick is too boring." Buizel replied.

"But you said we would take turns." Flaaffy argued.

"I never agreed to that rule." Buizel replied.

"Buizel, let your sister have a turn." Glen ordered. Buizel mumbled angrily as he handed his sister the remote. Flaaffy replied by sticking her tongue out at him. "Flaaffy." Glen warned.

"Sorry." Flaaffy apologized as she changed the channel.

"Well, it's about noon, i think it's about time i made lunch. I think i can make us some hotdogs." Glen suggested.

"What's a hotdog?" The Buizel asked.

Glen was taken a little aback by the Buizel's question. "Wait, you mean you know how to fix a TV and sense when someone is in danger, but you don't know what a hotdog is?" Glen asked. The two pokemon shook their heads. "Wow, that's...surprising, either way, i think you're going to like these." Glen replied, walking into the kitchen.

While Glen fixed up their lunch, Buizel and Flaaffy began to question something. "How do you think Braixen's going to react when she wakes up?" Flaaffy asked.

"Oh please, she's going to be grateful, who wouldn't, we just saved her tail." buizel replied.

"Yeah, but we know how badly she wanted to get out of here." Flaaffy reminded.

"So what?" Buizel asked.

"So do you think that coming back here will make her madder?" Flaaffy asked.

"Of course not, she will be grateful towards us." Buizel replied.

As if us was some kind of code word. Braixen started groaning, Buizel and Flaaffy jumped up and rushed to their sister's side. Braixen rubbed her head and opened her eyes and saw her siblings looking over her. "What am i doing back here?" She groaned.

"We saved you from turning into snake food, you're welcome." Buizel replied.

"But i made it clear i didn't want to stay here." Braixen scolded.

"But you needed help, you're our sister, we couldn't just leave you out there to die." Flaaffy replied.

"I didn't need help." Braixen replied.

"Like Arceus you didn't." Buizel replied. "You blacked out from fighting, that's a serious case of needing help if i ever saw one."

"I would have been fine." Braixen persisted.

"Braixen please, just listen, you need to stay here, we don't want you going back out and getting hurt again." Flaaffy tried to persuade.

"Do you guys not remember why we're not staying here in the first place, i can't risk my own capture just because you want me to stay." Braixen complained.

"But your injured, and plus you haven't even given this place a chance, it's really nice here." Flaaffy replied.

"Yeah, we don't have to walk a thousand miles to get food, it's comfortable, and we have some where to sleep." Buizel threw in.

"But you don't even know who this human is." Braixen protested.

"Yes we do." Flaaffy replied.

"Alright then, what's his name?" Braixen asked. Flaaffy and Buizel looked at each other and realized they never really had learned his name. "See, we know next to nothing about this guy."

"But's he's nice." Flaafy replied. "He helped you even when you abandoned us."

"That doesn't change anything." Braixen responded. "I'm leaving, and if you still don't want to join me, then that's your problem."

"Well look who's awake." Glen spoke up as he noticed the fox awake on the couch.

"Braixen's planning on leaving again." Flaaffy informed Glen.

Glen sighed and decided he needed to talk to the stubborn fox. "Guys, the hot dogs are on the table if you want them, i need to talk to your sister." Buizel and Flaaffy left the room leaving Glen and Braixen alone in the living room.

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me to stay too?" Braixen asked.

Glen took a seat next to the fox. "Look, Braixen, i understand that you're running from something, but you have to understand, i'm here to help you. Your siblings are worried for you, they just want you to be safe." Glen explained. "Whatever is trying to get to you, i can help."

"And why do you want to help?" Braixen asked.

"Because it's obvious you've suffered." Glen replied. "Your siblings and you have obviously traveled for a long time, and i personally don't like to see anyone or anything suffer, i'm just trying to be helpful. If you're not going to do it for me, at least try to do it for your siblings, your sister was worried sick for you when you left."

"We can't stop now, were not safe here as long as "they" are following us." Braixen replied. "You can't help us, and if they want to stay with you and ruin the future i'm trying to give them, then fine, let them stay here."

"Who's "they", what future are you trying to give your siblings?" Glen asked. Braixen was hesitant to respond, not willing to risk what they had worked for. "Braixen, please, i can't help you if you don't help me." Glen begged.

Braixen sighed. "If i tell you, i'll be putting you in danger too." Braixen warned.

"Danger of what?" Glen asked.

"Bad people." Braixen replied.

"What bad people?" Glen asked.

Braixen sighed again. "Don't say i didn't warn you." Braixen advised. "Me and my siblings come from a facility hidden in the forest far from here. Me and my siblings have the same father, but different mothers." Braixen explained.

"I wondered what the connection between you three were." Glen commented.

"In the facility, they test pokemon genetics. Each pokemon has a different ability, each one differs from each other. Flaaffy has the ability to manipulate electronics, Buizel has the ability to sense feelings and read thoughts."

"Any person's thoughts?" Glen asked.

"Not quite, he has to know them, in order to harvest the ability, he heeds to know their name, and spend more than a minute with them." Braixen explained. "I, however, have the ability to manipulate locks."

"So that's how you got in last night." Glen concluded.

"Yes, any door that is locked, i have the ability to open, but it's not just doors, any lock in general, i have the ability to manipulate." She replied. "Our father was a lucario, he worked alongside other subjects to test genetics and see what the ability offsprings would get."

"What ability did your father have?" Glen asked.

"He had the ability to manipulate others. Using some kind of weird connection ability, he could control them like puppets." Braixen explained. "If we ever acted out of order, he set us straight using his ability."

"Is that why you escaped?" Glen asked.

"Not entirely." Braixen explained. "My father told me my future, along with my siblings, would be as breeders. Considering the Promising results of my father's offspring, they wanted to combine our ability with others to see the result once we had reached our final evolutions. I never wanted that kind of future, and i didn't want it for my siblings either, so i broke out. I wanted to just leave by myself, but i realized that my siblings would suffer the same fate i was running from if i left, so i got them out as well."

"Couldn't your father just stop you, i mean, he does have the ability to manipulate you." Glen asked.

"Not quite, me and my siblings along with my father lived in separate containment cells. My father's influence only has a limited range before it can take effect." Braixen explained.

"Oh." Glen replied. "So how long have you been traveling?"

"A week." Braixen replied.

"A week, geez, i knew you were suffering but i didn't think that long." Glen replied.

"Yes, the trail to the city took a lot longer than i thought." Braixen replied.

"The city?" Glen asked.

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Braixen asked.

"Well, you said these were bad people, wouldn't the city be the first place they would look?" Glen asked.

"I doubt they would go so far to attract attention to themselves." Braixen replied. "The business they are running isn't within government guidelines, and the facility runs illegal experiments."

Glen sat next to the Braixen taking in all this information. A facility that illegally tested with pokemon genetics. But one question still remained. "Why were they doing it?" Glen asked.

"They wanted to make pokemon more useful at first, then it became a war tactic." Braixen explained.

"War tactic?" Glen asked.

"They wanted to try and use the pokemon's abilities to gain an advantage in world domination. The only problem came from the pokemon's loyalties." Braixen explained. "Most of the pokemon resented their treatment at the facility, the pokemon harbored grudges for being tested upon their own will. The only pokemon who did follow in their footsteps were pokemon like my father. They sucked up to them because those who obeyed were treated better than those who didn't."

"What specifically happened to those who didn't?" Glen asked.

"It depended on how resistant you were, if you were a little resistent, you might of just had your food rations cut, if you were very resistant, you'd receive various punishments, ranging from shock therapy, to a bullet to the head."

Glen didn't say another word, realizing how much of a risk they were both running with her and her siblings being here. He feared what he might have just walked into, but he promised he would help, and with the information he just learned, there was no way he could back out of it.

"I understand your struggle, trying to escape what could have been possibly your future is a tough decision, but you have to realize you can't run forever." Glen began.

"So what, are you saying that your going to trade us in!" Braixen growled.

"What, no!" Glen tried to explain. "You have to understand, there is only so far you can run, but eventually, your going to have to stand your ground."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Braixen asked.

"You are going to have to face these people again one day, starving yourself, running around exhausted, none of these are helping. If you stay here, i can help you." Glen convinced.

"Oh yeah, how?" Braixen asked, not entirely convinced.

"Well, if the things go bad, and i'm not able to help you three in the future, the nest i can do is help you now. If you do plan to fight, i can help you train." Glen explained.

"And what exactly can you do that can help us train?" Braixen asked.

"I can set up a training area, and i can read about pokemon techniques. Braixen i understand your trying to be cautious, but you can't run around forever, and i'm probably one of the very few people who would help you if they knew what you were running from. Please, understand i just want to help." Glen begged.

Braixen thought over her options. The travel to the nearest city would probably still take a few days, a week even. But she had barely made it through the other weeks, even on her own, she couldn't face everything that was out there, she almost got killed by two snakes.

"I will stay, but only on one condition." Braixen responded.

"Name it." Glen Replied.

"If i stay here, you better not double cross me if we are found." Braixen threatened.

"You have my word." Glen replied, putting his hand on his chest while raising the other. "Now then, what do you say we get you some food."

Braixen still didn't like the idea of being treated like a baby, but hunger made her realize she was just going to have to swallow her pride. "Fine." She replied.

Glen smiled. "Great, i'm sure your siblings will be excited, to hear your staying."

Glen got up to prepare the Braixen's food. Braixen laid down on the couch and rested her head on the armrest. She knew it wouldn't be long before her father had found her. The risk she was taking just sitting there now was a great one. Braixen just couldn't understand how her siblings just didn't understand the trouble she was going through to ensure their future. Braixen only wished her problems would just disappear, but this was reality. And in reality, things just don't disappear.

A couple hours had passed since Braixen had gotten attacked by the snakes, she was told she needed to lie down and let her wounds heal. She struggled to finds things to do on her own to pass the time, ever since the escape, she kind of had a hard time adjusting to the ability to relax. She wondered how her siblings made it seem so easy. It was after dinner and Buizel was watching the TV on the floor while Glen and Flaffy played together on the other end of the couch.

Glen patted Flaffy's muzzle, then he gripped his fist while letting his thumb poke through the center. "Got your nose." Glen teased.

"Eek." Flaffy shrieked. "Putitbackputitbackputitbackputitback." She panicked.

Glen laughed. "Flaffy calm down, it's not your real nose, see?" Glen explained, opening up his hand.

"Oh." Flaffy laughed. "I knew that."

"Really, then you know you don't really have a nose right?" Buizel asked.

"I do." Flaffy retorted. "Sort of."

Glen patted the Flaffy on her head. "Alright you two don't start fighting." Glen looked over and saw the Braixen's bored look and decided maybe she needed some attention. "Flaffy, why don't you watch tv with your brother." Glen suggested.

"Alright." She replied, turning her attention to the TV.

Glen slid over to where Braixen was and began to think of ways to help her. "Hey Braixen, look out, the monster's gonna get you." Glen teased as he put four of his fingers side by side, and started clapping them with his thumb repeatedly. Rather than acknowledge him, Braixen put her hand on his and pushed his hand back. "Oh come on Braixen, i'm just trying to play with you." Glen tried to reason.

"Well maybe i don't want to play." Braixen replied.

"Or maybe your just not giving it a try, come on Braixen, just ease up a little. It'll be fun i promise." Glen urged.

"No." Braixen responded firmly. "I don't want to play childish games right now."

"Come on Braixen." Glen urged. "You finally have a chance to relax and be playful, don't you want to take advantage of it?"

"I'll take advantage of it when tepigs fly, now leave me alone." Braixen replied.

"Braixen, you should have a little fun." Glen advised. Braixen ignored his comment and just continued to be bored, just as long as she didn't look stupid. Glen sighed. "One of these days i will make you have fun." He jokingly warned.

"Sure you will." Braixen replied sarcastically.

Flaaffy was worried for her sister. Ever since their father tried to show them what he did, she never really acted the same. Flaaffy then remembered something she should have asked Glen a while ago. "Hey?" Flaaffy asked.

"What?" Glen asked.

"I kind of forgot to ask this, but what is your name?" Flaffy asked.

"Oh yeah, we never learned it." Buizel spoke up.

Glen chuckled to himself. "Yeah, i forget to introduce myself sometimes. My name is Glen." He replied. "Now i'm wondering, do you guys have any names?"

Flaaffy and Buizel looked at each other. "Not really." Buizel spoke up.

"Sometimes the scientist people call us subject, then followed by some number." Flaaffy explained. "My number is 20051, I never figured out what it means."

"Yeah, and my number is 20050." Buizel threw in.

"Well i. My opinion, those don't really seem like names." Glen commented.

"Their labels." Braixen explained. "The scientist don't see us as Pokemon, they see us as lab rats."

"What's a lab rat?" Flaaffy asked.

"It means-" Glen began.

"Don't answer that." Braixen urged.

Glen closed his mouth. Staring at the fire fox. "Is there a reason i shouldn't explain?" Glen asked.

Braixen bit her finger, she actually had a reason why she didn't want him to explain it, but it was a personal reason. "Just don't for now." Braixen replied. Buizel and Flaaffy looked at each other.

"Well, alright, if you say so." Glen replied, going along with her request. Glen looked at the clock and realized it was around 10 o' clock. "Alright, well. I think it's about time to get ready for bed." Glen replied, getting up and stretching.

"Do we have to?" Buizel asked.

"Well, you have to go to sleep sometime, better now than be tired in the morning." Glen advised.

"I just wished we didn't have to sleep on the couch." Buizel commented.

"Oh, well, you don't have too." Glen replied.

"We don't?" Flaaffy asked.

"No, i have a guest room, you can stay in there while you stay here." Glen replied.

Glen lead the three pokemon to a room tat had a window and a king's size bed. Since there was only one, the pokemon were going to have to sleep together.

Buizel was the first to test the bed, throwing himself on top of it. "Hey, check out how soft this bed is." Buizel commented, waving his sister's toward him.

Flaaffy stepped forward, pushing herself onto the mattress. She liked how fluffy the covers felt, and how soft the bed felt when she touched it. "It's so soft!" She spoke up, rubbing her body al, over it.

Glen mentally laughed. "It's like they've been sleeping on floors." He quietly thought out loud.

"You're close." Braixen commented. Glen jumped, suddenly remembering that Braixen was standing right next to him. "While they haven't directly been sleeping on floors, they've been sleeping on metal platforms with pillows."

"That sounds even worse." Glen commented.

"You'd be surprised." Braixen replied.

"Well, it's time for bed, why don't you join your brother and sister." Glen suddenly sniffed the air as an odor hit his nose. "But first i think you need a bath." Glen sniffed the air again. "On second thought, i think you all need a bath."

Glen heated up the bath while the pokemon played around in the guest room. He hadn't had some decent company in a while. It felt nice to have the young pokemon around, it reminded him of when he was a little boy, taking care of his arcanine. Glen then sighed, while his childhood had a lot of good memories, one memory always overshadowed the others.

Glen and his arcanine lived in a small village by a forest, most children were warned to never actually enter the forest. But Glen's mother and father were sure that the arcanine would be able to keep a good eye on him, so he was never really told he couldn't go into the forest. On a summer day, Glen and his Arcanine decided to take a peek into the forest. Then what started as a peek, turned into a walk through the forest. Somewhere during the walk, they were attacked. Glen was riding on top of his Arcanine when all of a sudden he was thrown off. As it turned out, a zoroark had spotted the pair, and he expected a big lunch. Glen's arcanine defended Glen from the Zoroark, Glen ran off back to the village to go get help. By the time Glen got help, it was too late. The zoroark had finished off his Arcanine and ran when he heard the sound of humans approaching. Glen always felt it was partially his fault. He felt he should have never gone into that forest, or maybe he should have helped his Arcanine, Or even just ran a little bit faster.

Glen pushed himself back into reality. It was 20 years ago when it happened, he knew his arcanine wouldn't like him mourning over his death for so long. But Glen just couldn't let it go.

Glen turned off the running water and felt it, the water felt fine, so now the only thing to do was to get the pokemon in the water. Glen went back to the guest room, he saw Buizel and Braixen on the bed, but couldn't tell where Flaaffy was.

"Where's Flaaffy?" Glen asked. Both Buizel and Braixen pointed at the bed, Glen could only guess what that meant. "Why don't you two hop into the tub while i try and talk to Flaaffy?" Glen asked. Buizel and Braixen walked past Glen into the bathroom. Glen walked over to the bed and looked under it, sure enough, there was Flaaffy, holding her tail. "C'mon Flaaffy, time to take a bath." Glen tried to coax gently.

"I don't want to." Flaaffy replied.

"Why not?" Glen asked.

"She has a fear of water." Braixen shouted from the bathroom.

"Is that true?" Glen asked. Flaaffy did little more than nod her head. "Flaaffy, there is nothing to be scared of, your brother and sister will be in there too."

"I don't want to shock them though." She replied.

"Then why don't you take a separate from your brother and sister?" Glen asked.

"Because i'm afraid something bad will happen, like i could slip and drown." Flaaffy replied.

"The i'll be in there to make sure that doesn't happen." Glen offered.

Flaaffy squeezed her tail. "I'll think about it for now." She replied.

Glen stood up and let the Flaaffy stay under the bed for the moment, walking into the bathroom, Glen saw that both Glen and Braixen were already in the tub. Buizel was splashing his sister using his tails.

"Stop it you jerk!" Braixen yelled.

"Alright Buizel, that's enough." Glen spoke up.

"Aw, you're no fun." Buizel teased as he stopped his tails.

Glen grabbed some shampoo from a racket and poured some into his hands. "Alright, who wants to get washed first?" Glen asked. Buizel grinned as he pointed to his sister.

Braixen just rolled her eyes. "Just get it over with." She sighed.

Glen rubbed the shampoo on Braixen's head and started to message the shampoo into her fur. Making sure that it got deep enough to clean the dirt under her fur. Braixen was slightly enjoying the feeling, though she made sure not to show it for the sake of embarrassment.

"So your sister, she has a fear of water?" Glen asked.

"What doesn't she have a fear of." Buizel replied. "The dark, water, ghost."

"You're not the first one to try and coax her. After a while, the scientist had to force her to take a shower because she smelled so bad that she was almost impossible to test with." Braixen informed.

Glen thought over everything he had heard about the previous place they were at, but he needed to know more. "Sounds rough, what exactly was the place you lived, what was it like?" Glen asked.

"I'm not really sure what to say about that." Braixen replied. "We sort of lived in boxed in cells. They were small rooms with desks, a metal bed, and a flap for the door that handed us our food, we also had toilets and a shower unit, but that was it."

"Why the desk?" Glen asked.

"They were used for studying purposes. In order to test the pros and cons of each ability a pokemon had, they gave us some kind of survey every other week. We were to point out anything unnatural happening to us, and what progress we made with our testing." Braixen explained.

"How exactly did they test you?" Glen asked.

Braixen was silent for a moment. "It varied." She replied.

"How so?" Glen asked.

"... For mine, i had to test several locks in a time limit. Some doors i can unlock instantly, others take time. The more i practiced on that door, the faster i was able to unlock it." Braixen explained.

"What happened if you failed the time limit?" Glen asked.

"The floors were metal, if i was unable to unlock a door fast enough, they said they were going to send up too five hundred thousand volts across the floor and shock me." She replied.

"Did you ever fail?" Glen asked.

"Once, i blacked out from the pain." Braixen replied.

"What was yours like Buizel?" Glen asked.

"With my ability i'm able to detect feelings and all that phycology junk, right? Well, i also have the ability to tell when someone is going to do something. Every other day, a human would sit across from me at a table. We both held a button, the human's button would do a lot like what braixen's did, shock me. I had to press the button at the same exact time he did, using my powers to detect when he was going to do it, so i could cut off the volt before it reached me. A black board separated us, so i couldn't see when he pressed the button. We both only had one shot to press the button, if i pressed it too early, the human would press it later and shock me, if i hit it too late, i would get shocked." Buizel explained.

"What about Flaaffy's test?" Glen asked.

"Flaaffy's test was different." Braixen explained. "In a room with six lightbulbs that slowly started to dim until they went out, Flaaffy had to charge each of the bulbs using her power, if one of them went out, they all went out."

"And they used her fear to punish her?" Glen asked.

"Not quite, but it's how she developed her fear. The scientist told her that there was some kind of monster in the room, and that if the power went out it would eat her. Flaaffy told me that when the lights went out, she heard a growling. The scientist would open the door as a loud roar was heard. I suspect it was just some kind of sound effect, but the whole thing terrified Flaaffy." Braixen replied.

"All of these are horrible." Glen commented.

"It's how the scientist wanted to test us, each of us had to do what we were told or suffer for it." Braixen explained.

"How did they test your father?" Glen asked.

"They didn't." Braixen replied. "My father aced his tests on the first try, the scientist saw no reason to continue testing him."

"That seems a little unfair to the other pokemon." Glen commented.

"It's the way they do things, if you prove yourself exceptional on the first try, you don't have to do the test." Braixen replied.

"It still seems a little unfair." Glen repeated.

Glen continued to wash the pokemon, all the while thinking about how horrible it must have been to live in such a facility. If this was the suffering they gave to such young pokemon, who knew what other kind of treatments they gave other pokemon. Glen pulled the pokemon out of the bath when they were clean and dried them off. Glen escorted the two back to the guest room. Glen looked under the bed and saw that Flaaffy had fallen asleep under the bed.

"She did that on purpose to skip her bath." Buizel complained when Glen pulled her out.

"Don't worry, i'll wash her while she's asleep, implying she'll sleep the whole time." Glen suggested.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Braixen asked.

"Do you really want a smelly sister sleeping next to you while you sleep?" Glen asked.

"Touché." Braixen replied.

Glen left the two in the guest room so they could get snuggled into bed while he cleaned up their sister.

"Braixen." Buizel spoke up while they moved under the covers.

"What?" Braixen asked.

"What happened to you?" Buizel asked. "Even with the trails you still acted cheerful and nice, but one day you stopped, why?"

Braxien was quiet for a moment. "Remember when dad showed us what we were going to be when we grew up, but i covered your eyes the whole time?" Braixen asked. Buizel nodded. "On that day, i saw something that i'm glad you two didn't. What i saw changed me. I'm sorry i'm not the sister you knew me as, but i had to sacrifice that part of myself when i protected you two that day."

"Braixen, what was dad doing?" Buizel asked.

"Something you shouldn't know about until you're older." Braixen explained.

Glen came back a while later with their sister in a towel. Glen laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. He was glad she didn't wake up, or else he probably would have come back in sparks. Either way, everything worked out pretty nicely.

"Glen, can i ask you something?" Buizel asked.

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Glen replied, sitting down on the bed.

"Why don't you have a wife?" Buizel asked. "You seem like the kind of guy who would get all kinds of girls."

Glen bit his finger for a second before beginning to explain. "Well, i have a medical condition that kind of makes it hard to have a serious relationship with a girl."

"What do you mean?" Buizel asked.

"Well, you see, i'm considered to have sterile sperm." Glen explained. "Meaning i can never have a child."

"That sounds bad." Buizel spoke up.

"It is, i love children, and i hoped to have one of my own one day. But when the doctor told me of my condition. I kind of threw those hopes out the window." Glen replied. "Ever since then however, i've switched my view towards pokemon, i always wanted my own, but the nearest cites don't have a pokemon adoption center, and any pokemon that usually stays here is gone in a few days."

"So that's why you seemed a little desperate for us to stay." braixen pointed out.

"I wouldn't say desperate." Glen commented. "But that was sort of the reason why i wanted you to stay, yes."

"Come to think of it, there is something i've been wondering." Braixen spoke up. "I haven't seen you go to a single job."

"Oh, well i can explain that one, when i was 21 i had a rich uncle who left his mansion to me, since i couldn't afford it, i sold it. I took the money i had and bought this small house, and with the remainder i have, i don't have to work another day." Glen replied.

"Sounds like you had a lucky break." Braixen commented.

"You could call it that." Glen smiled. "Anyway, i think it's time you guys went to sleep." Glen stood up and walked towards the door. "See you guys in the morning." He bid goodnight.

"Goodnight." The two pokemon replied, scooting into the covers and closing their eyes.

Glen took off his glasses and contemplated a hard decision that kelt running through his mind all day. "If i kept them, what would happen when the previous owners found me, they probably would kill me. But if i just gave them up, how could i live with myself. They were tortured at that facility, i can't let them go back, i just can't."

Glen set his glasses on his night stand and threw the covers over himself. "They have a lot of life ahead of them, and i can either let them rot in a facility, or get myself killed protecting what life they have now." Glen sighed and turned off the lamp next to his bed. "I'm sure i'll think of something." Glen thought.

To be continued...

Hey guys sorry to cut this short, but i think i'll make this only a two-parter, until the next post, stay fluffy my friends- collierider12.


	2. Chapter 2

Several months had passed since the three pokemon had resided at Glen's house. By then he had practically adopted them. Flaffy and Buizel, who Glen decided to name Abigail and Richard, both enjoyed staying at the small house. Especially considering it was the winter season, and no pokemon liked to be stuck out there during that time, except for ice-types.

Braixen, who Glen named Maureen, was still worried about being found by the people who she used to be experimented upon. Since the time that Glen had allowed them to stay at his house, Maureen and Glen had been working together to help her fighting skills so that if she needed to protect her siblings, she could. Glen offered to help train Abigail and Richard, but Maureen forbid it, she didn't want them to feel like objects for a battle.

That still didn't stop Glen from subtly teaching her siblings a few moves. Maureen stared out the window as alight sheet of snow glided down to the ground. Richard and Abigail were both helping Glen make some holiday cookies for the Christmas season. Maureen didn't really feel like joining in on the festive tradition. Maureen had what some people called a "sixth sense". She could feel when her father was nearby, the closer he was, the more nervous Maureen felt, like the air was coded with dread. The feeling of fear felt weak, but Maureen knew that meant he would only get closer, her father had no problem locating her when she hid before, and she suspected he wouldn't have any trouble now. Maureen tried her best to remain calm and try not to get Glen worried.

Maureen still didn't feel strong enough to face off against her father, even with several months of training. If anything, her father would take her down easily, and then nothing would stop him from reaching her siblings. Maureen suddenly felt something looming over her, Maureen looked to her right and breathed a sigh of relief that it was just Glen.

"You know, Abigail and Richard are having fun with the cookies, you sure you don't want to join?" Glen asked, trying to cheer her up.

"I don't really think making Christmas cookies is my thing." Maureen replied.

"Well, you don't know until you try." Glen tried to convince.

Maureen sighed. "Glen, look... As much as I like all you're doing for me and my siblings, I'm not like them, I can't have the same fun like they can have. My fun was taken away a long time ago, what you need to do is just help me train, no more of this "fun" stuff." Maureen advised.

Glen got on one knee and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maureen, this isn't about fun. You're so worried about being found that it's all you care about. What about your siblings. If you truly care for them as much as you say you do, then why not spend time with them? They care for you too, you know." Glen informed.

"I know they do, but... I just can't." Maureen replied.

"Why not?" Glen asked.

"Glen, I'm not saying this will happen. But let's say my father took my life away-"

"Don't think like that Maureen." Glen broke in.

"But saying it does happen." Maureen continued. "I don't want my siblings to mourn for me, having all these "cherished memories" would just make it harder for them to forget about me and move on." Maureen explained.

"So what would you like them to remember you as?" Glen asked, his voice rising. "The sister who cared for them but not enough to spend time with them, who just spent her last days staring out a window instead of enjoying the time she had left with them?"

Maureen stared at Glen, this was definitely a change from his usual tone of loving and caring, he expressed general concern and a bit of anger.

"Is everything alright Glen?" A voice asked.

Glen turned around and saw that Abigail was peaking from the kitchen doorway, she seemed worried about the noise coming from the living room. Glen quickly threw back on a warm smile. "Everything's alright Abigail." He replied in his usual soft tone. "Go back to making cookies with your brother I'll be there in a minute."

"Ok." Abigail replied, relived nothing was wrong.

As soon as Abigail left, Glen's smile disappeared, when he looked back at Maureen, he looked disappointed in her. "Maureen, I know someday I'm going to be gone too, and maybe your siblings might be taken away, but I don't want them to go away from me without any good memories." Glen looked out into the light-falling snow. "Let me tell you about my father." Glen opened-up. "Remember when I told you about my Arcanine."

"Yes?" Maureen replied.

"Why did you think I had that Arcanine?" Glen asked.

Maureen thought for a second. "Because you got it as a birthday present?" She asked.

"You're half right." Glen replied. "That Arcanine was a present from my mother because it was supposed to give me the love & attention I never got from my father. My father was a busy man, and when he wasn't busy, he was getting drunk. But always when I asked him to play with me, he would always tell me the same thing. "I'll do it another time, I promise." He would always say. And do you know what happened to that promise?" Glen asked. Maureen didn't know what to respond with. "It died, one day my father was coming home from work when a speeding car ran a red light and t-boned him at sixty miles per hour. The other guy barely survived, my father was another story. And all this happened only weeks after my Arcanine died. Afterword's my mother had to pick up a job, and after that, I had no one. My mother was busy at work and I stayed at home. All the memories I have of him are just of the ones of when I kept asking him to play. All I wanted to do was spend time with him, and he never did. At first, I missed him, but after all these years, you know what I think he is?" Glen asked.

"Just a memory?" Maureen asked.

"No, I think he's a lying bastard. He never spent time with me, and all those memories I have of him just anger me when I think of him. What do you think your siblings are going to think of you when one day you leave? They're not just going to think of you as the sister who helped them reach a better place. They're going to think of you as the sister who helped them get to a better place, and then cut them out of her life." Glen explained. Glen then sighed. "Maureen, you may not be the same Braixen you were when you were in that place, but even if you're not, the least you can do is try to act like the Braixen you were for your siblings. They look up to you, don't let them down." Glen advised. "Now, if you'll excuse me, your siblings and I will be making cookies in the kitchen, if you want to stay out here and mope around a window. That's your decision. But I'm going to spend time with them while I am able too." Glen informed as he walked back into the kitchen.

Maureen continued to look out the window. She remembered how she kept her brother and sister happy during the time they spent at the experiment facility. Even if they were in separate cells, sometimes they would be allowed to see each other. And in that time, she would always play with them and bring their spirits up, even if things seemed dim. She always made sure to keep her siblings happy, and in turn, they made her happy.

But after the incident with her father. That no longer seemed to matter to her, she just wanted to leave, to get away from her own future. Maureen realized then what had changed about her, she had become selfish. All of this was because she wanted to avoid her own fate, while some of it pertained to getting her siblings to a better place, all she really cared about was herself. She didn't bother caring for them, or keeping their spirits up anymore. It was just to escape from HER own future.

Maureen heard a laugh come from the kitchen. If she ever wanted to bring good memories to her sibling's, it seemed like now was the only time to do it. Maureen sighed and began to walk towards the kitchen, when she reached the door way she stopped and bit her lip. She wasn't sure why, but it felt a bit weird to start acting all "innocent" again. She hadn't felt that way in a long time, could she really pull it off again? Maureen remembered that Glen said to just pretend to be what she was, so it should be easy right?

Maureen took a deep breath and swallowed down her pride.

Even if she didn't like it, now was the time to help her siblings make cookies. Maureen stepped into the kitchen where she saw her brother and sister helping Glen make cookies.

Abigail was helping mix the dough, while Richard helped to cut the dough into Christmas trees. Glen was manning the oven when he noticed the fire-type fox standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Maureen, good timing, we need someone to help decorate the cookies." Glen spoke up.

"No going back now." Maureen thought. "Yeah, cookies." Maureen replied, still a little uncomfortable with trying to act "young and innocent."

Glen pulled up a chair so that Maureen could reach over the counter.

"What exactly do I do?" Maureen asked.

"Just decorate them, give them eyes, a tux, whatever you want." Glen explained.

Maureen scanned what she had to work with and started by grabbing some of the red sprinkles and shaking the small jar onto the cookies. She then grabbed some weird white paste in a bag and squeezed it in a specific pattern, trying to get the outline of the pastries. Maureen scanned the items on the counter and decided to grab gumdrops and placed them down in a specific order. When she finally felt like he was done, she showed them to Glen.

"How do these look?" Maureen asked as she showed them to Glen.

Glen held back a laugh as he looked at the cookies, they were as sloppy as a pig sty. "Well, maybe a few tweaks would make them better." Glen advised.

"Are you kidding?" Richard spoke up. "Those look like a mess." He laughed.

"Are they really that bad?" Maureen asked.

"Well, it takes time if you want to properly decorate cookies, but the whole point here is to just have fun, it doesn't matter how they look." Glen explained.

Maureen looked down at her work, she didn't really try to have fun. She was just trying to make them look nice. Maureen hopped back up on the chair as Glen put down another batch for her to decorate. As Maureen was about to grab one of the objects in front of her, she suddenly felt something hit the back of her head. Reaching to the back of her head, she pulled something soft from her head, she then realized it was a dough ball. Turning around, Maureen saw Richard looking at her, he suddenly raise his paw and pointed at Abigail. Considering the fact that Richard was the one working on the dough, she had a hard time believing that his sister was the culprit. Maureen threw the ball back at him and it stuck on his chest. Abigail suddenly let out a small laugh as her brother was pelted with the dough ball that she had actually thrown. Maureen suddenly realized she had been tricked and grabbed the bag of white paste. Squeezing hard, a sudden burst of white paste was launched at her sister.

Abigail was surprised when she felt something creamy run hit her back. Turning around Abigail saw Maureen armed with the white bag. Abigail grabbed a small piece of dough and armed herself while her brother did the same.

Oblivious to the situation behind him, Glen watched over the cookies while balls of dough and white paste were flying across the room. It wasn't until a piece of white paste hit the back of his head did he turn around.

The little war immediately stopped as all three of the pokemon were caught red-handed. Maureen was sure he would be mad at the mess they had caused, but to her surprise, he merely burst into laughter. Her brother and sister did the same as they shared a laugh. Maureen however was confused. "Shouldn't He be mad at the mess we just caused?" She thought.

"Well, when I said have fun, I didn't think this was how you guys would interpret it." Glen chuckled. Glen looked over to his right and saw the confusion on the Braixen's face. "What's wrong Maureen?" Glen asked.

Maureen was surprised that he didn't see how she was confused. "Look at the mess we made." Maureen spoke up. "How are you not mad at it? There is dough balls and paste everywhere!"

"Well, you had fun didn't you?" Glen asked.

"Well, yes but-"

"Then why do I have to be mad, you were only doing what I told you." Glen explained. "Speaking of messes, I'm going to get some bath water ready, you all need a bath." Glen chuckled.

Glen left the room, leaving the three pokemon to themselves for the time being.

"Aw, I don't want a bath!" Abigail complained.

"Well, you shouldn't have started this whole fight should you have?" Richard replied.

"You could have stopped it at any time." Abigail responded.

"No I couldn't have." Richard defended.

"Yes you could!" Abigail returned.

"Could not!" Richard replied.

"Could have!" Abigail repeated.

While the two pokemon were fighting, Maureen was sitting on the chair she used for the decorations and pondered to herself. "How can Glen just get up and say it was alright for us to make such a big mess, if our father had seen us like this, he probably would have scolded and punished us…severely. It doesn't make any sense." She thought.

"Maureen, Richard hit me with another dough ball." Abagail suddenly called, snapping Maureen back to reality.

"No I didn't, it was there since we were throwing things at each other." Richard hastily replied.

Maureen felt like standing up and shouting at both of the pokemon to stop acting like children. It was only then that she understood Glen's behavior. Glen knew they were young, and that their future could be dark, he didn't want their last moments of freedom to just be them getting yelled at. Maureen looked over and saw that the white paste bag was still there. She picked it up and aimed it at her brother with a grin on her face.

"Wait, Maureen, what are you-ah!" Richard shouted as he was suddenly sprayed with the white crème. Abigail laughed but shortly after also got a blast from the white bag. Grabbing some dough, Abigail and Richard rolled them into balls and armed themselves, and soon the fight was back on.

When Glen came back he saw that the room was more of a mess than when he came back. Glen chuckled at the mess the three pokemon had made in his absence. "Well, glad to see the fun didn't stop while I was away." Glen laughed. "Anyway, I got the bathtub warmed up, who wants to go first?" Glen asked.

"Me!" Richard voluntarily chimed.

Glen led Richard to the bathroom while the two sisters remained in the kitchen.

"That was fun." Abigail chimed in when Glen left.

"Yeah, I just feel bad Glen has to clean this all up." Maureen commented.

"Yeah, but at least your acting like yourself again." Abigail joyfully replied.

"Acting like myself?" Maureen asked.

"Well, you haven't really been this fun since after we left the "place", so it's great to see that you're becoming yourself again." Abigail explained.

"I can only hope so." Maureen thought. "Well, I guess I just got tired of being a downer all the time." She explained.

"Maureen?" Abigail asked, Maureen looked at her sister. "Do you still think we're being hunted?"

Maureen sighed. "Honestly, I don't know." She lied, knowing full well they were. "But for now, let's not worry about that."

Maureen and Abigail stayed in the kitchen for a few more moments, eventually Glen came back and told the two that he was ready for the other to come take a bath. Maureen was about to volunteer to go in place of her sister, but to her surprise Abigail volunteered to take a bath first. Abigail followed Glen to the bathroom, leaving Maureen alone in the Kitchen. For a moment, Maureen was curious whether not Abigail would actually take a bath, it even got to the point where Maureen snuck to the bathroom to see for herself if Abigail could do it. Maureen peeked through the doorway and saw Abigail hesitantly standing outside the bathtub.

"What's wrong Abigail?" Glen asked. "I thought you wanted to take a bath?"

Abigail groaned uncomfortably before stating the truth. "I…I only volunteered because I wanted to be brave, like my sister." Abigail confessed.

"Like your sister?" Glen asked.

"Like me?" Maureen thought to herself.

"Yeah, Maureen got us out of that evil place, and led us here, the whole way she didn't even show any sign of fear. I want to be like her, I want to be fearless. And I figured the best way to do that would be to conquer my fears, but when I try, I realize I can never be like her. I end up being a big scaredy-skitty and backing out." Abigail explained.

Glen brought her close and wrapped his arms around Abigail. "Not everyone comes over their fears easily Abigail." Glen stated. "You're not a scaredy-skitty, you're just not used to things like water. It doesn't matter if you don't get over your fear the first time, what matters is that you continue to try to get over your fear."

"But what if I can't ever get over my fear?" Abigail asked. "I try so hard, but every time I end up a failure."

"Then try again." Glen encouraged, Glen suddenly had an idea. "I'll tell you what." Glen offered. "You get in the bathtub and take a bath, and tonight you can sleep in my room with the lamp on, deal?"

Abigail thought it over for a moment. "Would you tell me a story while I sleep?" Abigail asked.

Glen smiled warmly. "Sure." He agreed.

Abigail slowly hesitated to enter the water, slowly getting over the edge and slid into the water, flinching at the first touch.

"There, see, that wasn't that bad." Glen spoke up.

"I guess." Abigail replied, still a little uncomfortable being in the water.

Maureen was amazed at how easily Glen was able to get her into the bath. Most of the scientist back where they came from usually forced her to take a shower if she didn't cooperate with them. Maureen snuck away and made her way to the kitchen again. She didn't understand how Abigail was easily convinced by Glen. Maureen thought it over for a moment before realizing why. Glen had become like a father to her. Maureen's father never really treated his kin like his children. He treated them like puppets, almost quite literally. The way he would use his ability's to get them to do what he wanted was something Glen never did. But then that sparked another question in Maureen's mind, what did Glen think about this?

Maureen waited a while before Glen eventually came back and told Maureen that it was her turn to take a bath. Maureen followed Glen to the bathroom and climbed into the bathtub. Glen started by putting some shampoo on a brush and brushing the top of her head to get the dough out of the top of her head.

"Glen, I have a question for you." Maureen spoke up.

"Shoot." Glen replied, curious.

"Do you consider yourself a father to us?" Maureen asked.

Glen seemed a bit surprised by the question. "What brought this on?" He asked, focusing on the cream on her ears.

"You just seem so… nice around my siblings, you haven't asked anything in return and Neither Abigail or Richard seem to have a problem with you, even when you got mad at them for breaking that rare vase you had, you didn't raise your voice or hit them you just told them to go to their room, and they did it without questioning or pleading. They seem to respect you more than our own father, and I just wonder if you're doing all this because you consider yourself a father to us." Maureen explained.

Glen thought it over a moment. "Do you think I make a good father?" Glen asked.

Maureen seemed hesitant to answer the question. "Well, compared to our father, yes." She responded.

"Then I guess you could say I'm acting like a father to them." Glen confirmed. "But what about you?" Glen asked. "Do you think I'm like a father to you?"

Maureen was caught off guard by the question. She hadn't really thought about how Glen had been trying to act towards her. He truly had been like a father to all of them, but somehow Maureen had completely let it go unnoticed.

"Well, in a way, yes." She hesitantly replied.

"Does something about that make you uncomfortable?" Glen asked, concerned.

"Not really, it's just… I've never really had a father who acted like you before, and…" Maureen's eyes were starting to tear up, he looked away from Glen and tried to keep herself from having a breakdown. Glen brought her close, despite how wet her fur was.

"Maureen, if you need to cry, just go ahead and do it, I'm not going to think you're weak just because you show me your emotions." Glen soothed.

At hearing these words, Maureen finally couldn't hold back, digging her face into Glen's shirt, Maureen cried as painful memories of her past, her father, and the torturing experiments she endured before she escaped. It had all finally caught up to her, and even as Maureen cried, she began to feel better.

Glen kept her close and comforted her until she finally stopped, even after the tears stopped, Glen kept Maureen close, and to his surprise, Maureen wasn't trying to shove him off.

"Feel better?" He asked. Maureen simply nodded, finally feeling relief for getting it all out, she felt a heavy burden off of her chest. Maureen didn't really felt like moving. For once in her life, she felt safe, like nothing could touch her. It felt nice to finally feel like someone else watched over and cared for her instead of the other way around.

"Glen, saying things come to worse, can you promise me something?" Maureen asked.

"What's that?" Glen replied.

"If somehow I can't defend my brother and sister, and you have the chance, can you please promise me that you'll take care of them? To go someplace far away and make sure they live a good life." Maureen asked. "Can you promise me this?"

Glen nodded. "I promise." He agreed.

Maureen felt like she could finally rest easy, with everything out of her system, and her siblings having a secure future, there was no need to panic about the future anymore, except for one reason. But at the moment, it just seemed miniscule. Eventually Maureen got out and dried herself off, joining her other siblings in the guest room.

"You three stay here while I go clean up the kitchen, and afterword, I have a little surprise for the three of you." Glen informed as he walked off to get a mop.

The three pokemon were now alone in the room, allowing them some free time with each other. "Oh, a surprise, what do you think it is?" Abigail asked.

"Maybe he's going to take us to the city?" Richard wondered.

"Oh, maybe we can pick out whatever we want from the stores." Abigail threw in.

"I don't know, that seems a bit farfetched." Maureen replied skeptically.

"But it would be neat." Richard threw in.

Maureen sat down on the bed. She opened the drawer to the nightstand and pulled out a book that Glen handed her some time ago. It was a story about a man who had to make tough decisions, whether to go out and enjoy life or to stay at his job and waste his life away. Maureen obviously knew the reason why Glen had handed her the book. She had peeked through it a couple times, but she didn't really take anything from it.

"What's that?" Abagail asked.

Maureen peeked up and noticed her two siblings staring at her. "It's just a book." Was the only words she replied with?

Richard sat next to his sister and looked over her shoulder as she opened the book. "What's it about?" He asked.

"It's about a guy." Maureen replied, not really interested in explaining the basic plot.

"What about him?" Abagail asked.

"It's just a story about a man who wants to be a free spirit. But can't because he needs his job." Maureen explained.

"Why, anyone can be a free spirit." Richard spoke up.

"Humana don't work the same way we do." Maureen explained. "They need money, and a house, and all that stuff. But humans need jobs to get those things."

"That's stupid." Richard replied. "We Pokemon live in the wild, we do what we want."

"But we're not from the wild." Abagail reminded. "We're from the bad place."

"Well, we're still Pokemon." Richard replied, trying to defend his position.

"Maybe we should just talk about something else." Maureen suggested, putting away the book.

"What about Glen?" Richard asked.

"What about Glen?" Maureen repeated.

"Yeah, what do you think of Glen." Abagail explained. "I know I love him because he takes care of us." Abagail suddenly got a dark look in her eyes. "He also doesn't force me into a dark room with monsters."

Maureen stared at her sister. Abagail shivered for a second before looking back at her siblings with her regular demeanor.

"Well I like him 'causes he's fun. He plays with us and is really funny. I also don't get shocked by him." Richard replied, trying to hide the fact that he was still scarred from his experiments.

"What about you Maureen? What do you like about him?" Richard asked.

Maureen did like Glen, but mainly for a reason she was too embarrassed to admit. "I guess I just like him because he's given us place to stay." She half-lied.

Maureen hoped down from the bed. "Look, I'm just going to check and make sure Glen is alright, think you can stay here in the meantime?" She asked.

"Why can't we come?" Richard questioned, suspicious of Maureen.

"Because you just had baths, of the kitchen is still dirty, wouldn't want you to trip and fall in something and dirty up yourself again. I certainly know Abagail wouldn't want another bath." Maureen quickly explained.

"And what makes you special?" Richard further questioned.

"I'm the big-sister, I know how to stay out of trouble." Maureen replied.

"Says the Braixen who nearly died from two snakes in the forest?" Richard reminded.

"That-they were just lucky." Maureen excused. Richard raised an eyebrow, still suspicious. "Look, just wait here, I won't be long."  
>Maureen quickly stepped out of the room before Richard could reply. She made her way to the kitchen where Glen was trying to scrub away some hard dough attached to the floor with a mop. It didn't take Glen a long time to notice the Braixen standing in the doorway.<p>

"Oh, Maureen. If you wouldn't mind, since you're here, could you grab a wash rag and clean off the oven for me?" Glen requested.

Maureen nodded and grabbed a rag from one of the drawers. She washed it down really quick before starting to scrub off the paste and dough on it.

"So what brings the unexpected visit?" Glen asked.

"I just came by to see how you were doing." Maureen lied.

"And an ampharos has hair." Glen replied. "Maureen, I know when something is bugging you. You always get that look in your eyes."

"What look?" Maureen asked.

"Well, your eyes move around the room a bit for starters, you also get that far off look." Glen explained.

Maureen slowed her motion on the oven. She knew she had to get back on track. "Well, of you really must know. It's just that…. I feel that way too much responsibility has been put on me."

"I know it must feel like a lot, carrying the weight of your two siblings is a hard job to manage when you're young, but you're not the only one who is trying to raise them anymore." Glen tried to comfort. "I'm here to help all of you, there's no need to try and carry all this weight on your shoulders anymore."

Maureen let out a deep breath and let the rag drop to her side. "It's not just that." Maureen explained. "My father is going to be on the search for us, and when he arrives, who else is going to fight him." Maureen kept thinking of the possible ways she could fail in keeping her father at bay. "It feels like all he has to do is snap his fingers and he can do anything he wants. He controls an entire facility on his own just by using the bare minimum of his powers."

Glen wasn't really sure how to respond to her problem, it was obvious she needed comfort or some form of guarantee that she was going to be alright, but Glen wasn't sure how to give her any.

"Maureen, you're not doing this fight alone." Glen spoke up, putting his hand on the Braixen's shoulder. "Even if we don't succeed, isn't it worth knowing that your siblings and I helped fight alongside you?"

"But I don't want to fail." Maureen weakly replied.

Glen tried to talk, but a lump in his throat kept him from speaking. He would either have to lie, or tell her the grim truth about the situation. He decided that the only way for her to get past her worries, was to break what was left of her comfort shield. "Maureen." Glen called, his voice no longer keeping his comforting tone. "We all fail sometimes, this is true. What is also true is, one day we are all going to die. But in the end, it doesn't matter if you die, what matter is what you did during that time."

Maureen looked up at Glen. "S-so you're telling me it's hopeless?" She asked.

"No, what I'm telling you is that you shouldn't be worried to die." Glen explained.

Maureen felt a deep sense of fear run up her spine. Knowing that at any time she would be thrown into death's cold embrace caused her knees to become weak. Glen caught Maureen as she started to fall forward. She didn't cry, she didn't speak. She just kept herself in his arms, trying to process what had just been explained to her.

"Glen." She finally spoke after a few minutes of silence. "I… I'm scared."

"I know." He replied. "I am too."

Maureen puller herself from his arms and wiped her nose. "I think I'm going to go back to the room." She informed, her voice sounding somewhat bleak.

"Take a rest Maureen, I know it's hard to stomach what I just said. I'm sorry I had to tell you all that, but in truth, if you don't stop looking past these negative thoughts you're getting, there's no way you can ever move forward with your life."

Maureen didn't reply. Merely turning around, she headed back for her siblings room. More on her mind ever, than when she first arrived.

To be continued…


End file.
